heres a laugh..

Unforntunatly all car franchises / dealerships are geared up for new cars weather it be ford, vw citreon what ever, there not really bothered that us lot think its a rip off ( which it rightly is ) All these new model owners go in and pay what ever it costs to fix Just because there cars a ford/vw and its the ford/vw dealer telling them how much it will be and blagging them with crap that if it goes else where that it won`t get done to ford/vw standards which is basically rubbush aswell as there aint no proper techs in dealerships now a days there all just fitters, plug and play guys. If it don`t work then replace it sort of attitude unforntunatly.

I work at a multi franchise dealership and the labour they charge in the service department is over ?80 ph and they are always constantly busy fully booked everyday, so if people are stupid enough to pay these charges then the dealerships are going to charge them.

anyway hope you get yours sorted for a decent price

All car dealers are the same, they price "fix" same as supermarkets, they just seem to escape the "reaonable" threshold and hardly ever get investigated

The reason why people with newer cars use the dealers is for warranty, they are over a barrell untill the car is outside its warranty or extended warranty, that why loads of car adverts say "full vw history upto xxx miles then specialist" as you can usually 1/2 the labour cost by driving 2 minutes around the corner and still specify they use original parts on your car

Dealers wont change all the time people buy new cars, as thats what really keeps them afloat with the sales and after care profits, i find main dealers are pretty un helpfull when you say "its a mk1" and they just look at tme blankly when i say "corrado" as the wet behind the ears parts lad wasnt even able to talk or walk when it was launched

if its just parts then vw arent too bad. my local TPS are pretty good, the odd thing I go to GSF etc but some times its not worth it.

I was buying a specail button for the mk4, and all the special places were the same or more than vw, so VW have ordered me one from germany as they didnt have any in the UK  

Kenno said

there aint no proper techs in dealerships now a days there all just fitters, plug and play guys. If it don`t work then replace it sort of attitude unforntunatly.

My brothers a Ford 'technician' and I go up to the dealership all the time to work on the Golf, all the techs there get their hands dirty and have their own cars/projects that they get stuck into. They aren't idiots, and do know how to fix cars, the trouble is that the decisions on whether to repair or replace are made by the big wigs who sit in the office and keep thieir hands clean.

Don't slate the technicians/mechanics, they are simply doing a job and have no say in how parts are priced or the labour charges.

Just been quoted at least ?600 (mates rates) to get my Cabby through an MOT

GavB95 said

Kenno said

there aint no proper techs in dealerships now a days there all just fitters, plug and play guys. If it don`t work then replace it sort of attitude unforntunatly.

Thats more to do with the way cars are built than how the mechanics involvement in the repair is

2 of of my best mates are VW technicians, one has been since the last VW Campers and Bettles were being turned out! the other when mk1 and mk2 were still being manafactured in droves!  its easy to say "fitter" but how could you ever accumulate the vast knowledge of their previous experience and hands on skills and knowledge?

the above statement is a bit of a blinkered comment if your totally honest

and now well since 2002 you dont have to be serviced at a main dealer to keep up the warranty